1.5 stars, up from 1 star after reading the afterword that this edition has in it. this is written really harshly. too much into the lingo of cops and assholes for me most of the time. it's based on a true event, but the investigation and resolution is fictitious...but there's truth to the characters, too, as we learn in the afterword. maybe it deserves 2 stars. i was put off by the writing, not so much the story. i've read him before (l.a. condifential) and feel like i liked it better than this one. maybe this was too close to him personally. (but i know that lots of people love this one, so maybe it's just me.)